Auto-runner games tend to invite particular scrutiny on the App Store, as the sheer abundance of similar titles means the average gamer will only have time to play a few of the most interesting titles within the genre. Malevolent Machines is one such game – while not necessarily attempting to reinvent the wheel, developers Goodnight Games have created a runner which takes significant steps at fleshing out its story and world, through an interesting premise and some really pretty pixel art graphics that bring its dystopian world to life. While Malevolent Machines won’t hit the App Store until February 7th of next year, the developers have released a cool new teaser trailer that does a great job of showing the game’s awesome assets in action.

Malevolent Machines features the escapades of scientist Dr. Leyla Green, who has to venture through numerous different environments to save the steampunk world from creatures of her own creation in an attempt to retain her funding. Some of the mechanical menaces encountered included a steam grenade launcher that was originally intended to fire tennis balls, a carry-copter that somehow became filled with mines, and an automatic snow-shovelling robot that became sentient with its military robot AI and went on a murderous rampage. While one can argue why such an incompetent person is allowed to be a scientist at all, it looks incredibly entertaining to see Leyla and her cyborg companion go through a whole host of backdrops over the 25 level course of the story, and a tentative $1.99 premium price point with free DLC on the way is the cherry on the cake. Head down to the Malevolent Machines forum thread to ask Goodnight Games any questions about the game, and to keep up to date with the development process leading up to the February 2017 release date.